WASHINGTON: A Youtube video surfaced on Tuesday showing an attack last week on U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford by supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The video shows Ford observing a protest at the Syrian bar association in Damascus. Two men rush Ford chanting pro-Assad slogans and one tries to wrap him in a poster of the Syrian president. Bodyguards then swarm Ford, who abruptly leaves the scene. According to State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland, Ford was invited by lawyers to witness the protest. Nuland insisted that other diplomats attended the demonstration, including multiple European officials. “We continue to believe that he is doing very, very important work there, and the fact that he was asked by the Syrian opposition to come and bear witness to their peaceful protest speaks to his influence and the importance to the opposition of having outside support.” Ford received widespread praise after a July 8 visit to the restive city of Hama, where anti-Assad demonstrators draped his car with flowers and olive branches. The Syrian government denounced Ford's visit and pro-Assad demonstrators attacked the US embassy in Damascus on July 11. In testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on August 2, Ford said, “My team and I see it as an integral part of our mission to give [the Syrian] people an ear and a voice. To amplify their hopes and legitimate grievances so that the international community and most importantly the Syrian regime pays attention…I will continue through my actions and my presence to demonstrate solidarity with the Syrian people and our rejection of the regime's empty promises, senseless violence, and sectarian fear-mongering. “I see my job as helping establish the space for Syrian thinkers, political activists and those who lead the street protests to organize their plan for the political transition that must occur if Syria is to know stability again.” Also Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions on three senior Syrian officials: Foreign and Expatriates Minister Walid al-Moallem, Presidential Political and Media Advisor Bouthaina Shaaban and Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali. As a result of the sanctions, U.S. citizens are prohibited from engaging in transactions with the designees and their assets under U.S. jurisdiction are frozen. “Building on our sanctions targeting the entire government of Syria, we are bringing additional pressure to bear today directly on three senior Assad regime officials who are principal defenders of the regime's activities,” said Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S. Cohen. The designations are pursuant to Executive Order 13573, signed by President Barack Obama on May 18, which targets senior Syrian officials. On August 18 President Obama signed Executive Order 13582, which sanctioned Syria's central bank and its energy sector. BM
